McKinney professor instructs Cambodian officials on new laws

The adage of pulling yourself up by the bootstraps is a failed metaphor if there are no boots or straps in the first place.

This is a common problem in developing nations, where access to credit is often hard to come by. In such cash-strapped societies, only a small group with existing collateral can start and maintain their own businesses.

That was the very problem one Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law professor sought to address late last year when she traveled to Southeast Asia for a four-day conference.